Thursday, 17 May 2012

On course for better health

An old people’s home where residents’ health and
wellbeing increased dramatically after it introduced educational classes is
backing plans to increase learning opportunities in similar establishments
elsewhere.

Tansley House Residential Care Home in Matlock
introduced educational courses for its 20 residents run by local charity First
Taste in 2006. These included information technology, arts and crafts courses,
as well as a chair-based exercise programme.

The result, according to Tansley House manager Beverley
Windle, was a range of benefits for its residents -they became more engaged with each other and needed less
medication and fewer incontinence pads.

“We set out to turn round a very institutionalised
home where there was a lack of stimulation, with many residents spending too
much time sitting in a chair, often watching television” said Windle

“Now residents enjoy life, are not asleep during the
day and thus go to bed tired and not needing sleeping

First Taste has moved from providing class tutors to
training Tansley House staff to run them. The home won a group award from the
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education in 2009

In 2004, the home recorded 604 incontinence packets of
incontinence pads used by residents. In 2007 the figure dropped to 334 and fell
to 189 in 2009, a 68.7% reduction that has been maintained in the last two
years.

“The classes had health and psychological benefits,
because residents enjoyed doing the activities,”

said
Windle. “They are so busy during the day that they sleep well on an evening –
they don’t nod off during the day.

We encourage people to be as independent as possible –
when they want to go to the toilet they go and we work to help them. Most homes
do like a toilet rota whereby they take people at intervals of two to three
hours. I think some homes rely on putting the pads on residents – we don’t want
that to be the case.”

After Tansley House’s success, Windle said plans by
the national self-help education network the University of the Third Age (U3A)
to extend its courses into care homes should be supported.

U3A’s Francis Beckett said the organisation was aiming
to provide online course materials for the many older people in care homes that
now have access to computers. It also wants to set up a link between one of our
800 local groups and a nearby home.

“Learning new things is great fun at any age and can
help stave off some of the more distressing stages of later life and
dependency,” he said. Beckett He urged homes and their residents to ring
02084666139 for more details.